Where are y’all? | Arthritis Information

Hi all!
Just wondering why there has been no word from anyone for a few days?
Everyone ok? I have been on 20 mg for 1 1/2 weeks and have some pain free
time, some achiness and some stiffness. I know a month ago I would have
given anythig to feel this good... but now i am disappointed it isn't better...
ah well... I could take tylenol again!
hinking of you all
pgrpgr555,

Much the same here. I saw the podiatrist today, and was glad to know I don't have posterior tibial tendonitis disfunction - just plain old plantar fasciits. But he can't give me a cortisone shot as there is no one spot that is particlualy painful. Seems the inflammation covers multiple sites, so my whole arch area hurts, and the outer side of my foot from trying to keep off the heel and arch areas. He taped my arch, said to see how that does for a week, and then come back. I may need custom orthotics, as the foot is going flat (he couldn't figure out why - the other foot is fine). Will have to call the indurance co. to see if they will cover those (I don't think they do) - they cost 0. Yikes!! And I can only wear jogging shoes, special kind with mid-area motion control. They are also expensive. This getting older and falling apart is really frustrating me!!! wow, I should proof-read these posts before I send them. My secretary is on vacation. Haha. Too many typos and mis-spelled words. Hope you can decipher all of it.

Reni
I was wondering where everyone was as well.

I've just dropped to 3.5mg after about 6 weeks on 4mg. I kept trying to
find a gap when there wasn't much in my diary so that I could spend a
quiet few days getting used to the drop. As always when I drop I get
negative and depressed, and get easily upset - I'm better keeping out of
everyone's way.

Reni, your comments about your foot are ringing bells with me - I'm
getting pain somedays in the arch of one foot, but it's a foot that I've had
a lot of problems with in the past as the tendons are tightening (started
years ago) and then I broke ametatarsal bone 2 yrs ago. I'd put it down
to that, but I suppose it could be another manifestation of the PMR = gets
everywhere, doesn't it!

MargaretHey 555 and everyone. I'm reading everyday, but really have nothing to report either way. I faux painted a church foyer last week and did a small art piece. So, was pretty tired everyday. I'm going to the rheumy on Friday then maybe will have something to talk about . It's so hot here in Texas, nobody feels like doing anything. 103 most of the week in the northern part. I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you all! I feel better knowing everyone is there... Betsy, I am amazed
you are able to paint! I am in the midst of helping my students paint a room
and it really irritaes my shouders! And Reni! Walking is th think I mss most! I
have always walked everyday for YEARS! Now i find a short disance and my
hips hurt and i am exhausted. I also see the rhuemy this Friday. The aches I
have on this 20 mg are really liveable i guess, but I am thinking about
adding tylenol today for the painting and so i can report to the rheumy
where I really am...
NOT 103 here! 55 now will be 77 by noon... but Betsy, you have the
sunshine!
Stay in touch
pgr

I have question for those of us who have been at this a while. I am 10 months into PMR and went to 5 1/5 mg this am. I have found that my personality-attitude has changed. Given my choice I will stay home. Husband has to drag me out for dinner,to see friends. I really do not care to socialize at all. So unlike me. Think the pred head and weight may have something to do with it, but not totally. Maybe it is just me. Good side my sed rate is 6 and my pain comes totally from the predisone reduction.Central coast of California is wonderful-i need to be more thankful I know

Lonna

Hi to everyone,
I see my rheumy on Thursday. I am on 25 mg of pred. and do not feel well at all. I am going to ask him about small vessel vasculitis that some one mentioned in one of the posts. It sometimes is mistaken for pmr. There are kidney problems with that, and my kidney function is not right, so I will ask some questions when I go on Thursday. I was on 30 mg. and felt a little better, but droped to 25 and pain in shoulders, arms, hips and legs came back along with the fatigue. I feel like I am dragging myself along, so wish I could feel a little bit better. Love to all..Georgiana

55 degrees! 555, Where are you, child? Sounds good to me right now.

Lonna, lots of times I'm just too tired to go anywhere. Especially at night. It just zaps me.

Georgianna, we both go to the rheumy this week. I'm at 10mg and doing just ok except when I first get up. I can't seem to get under 10 without my shoulder killing me. I hope to find out about the RA this week too. I need to read up on the vasculitis thing. I don't think I've researched that at all. I hope things will start looking up for both of us. It's been a long time. Love to everyone.

Lonna, everyone I talk to who takes pred talks about different personality
stuff. For me, I am MUCH less depressed - but that could be less pain too...
sometimes either the pred or the disease wipes me out, not sure which. My
brother told me he was euphoric on pred.My sister sped and my friend said
her kids called it her B" x10 meds... every ome is affected differently - gjve
yourself a break

Brich - Maine _- high 78 today - gorgeous!

Painted all day today - was sore at the end of the day, but ok now - we'll see
tomorrow!
rheumy Friday
glad we have some conversation goingHI, All!

Betsy, I would love to see your paintings!! I've been thinking about you a lot, and Georgiana, too. The 17th isn't far off now, and I trust you will get some answers and some relief.

I have been so tired lately because of not sleeping well at night. Today it got to 90 degrees, which didn't help - we don't have AC. I had to take a nap or just drop. I went in the birds' room, and let the birds out of their cages. Pippin, my little green cheek conure, is content to stay on or in her cage when the door is open. Solana, the sun conure, flies onto the bed to be with me. She was under the covers until I yanked her out on my hand (I was asleep and didn't realize what I was doing).

Hi Reni, I wish I could share some of my artwork with you. It's what keeps me going. I do a lot of work for the interior designers. They come up with some crazy stuff to paint on. Their minds are soooo creative. Last week I painted 2 large life rings . One was sort of like a wreath. Pretty flowers with a few whimsical frogs (to hang on a pool house). The other had a funny alligator curled around it in a Monet water lily setting. It was a cajun thing with "Marie Laveau" at the top for a lady named Marie in La. Last month I painted a wealthy lady's grandchildrens' portraits on pine trees around the play area on their property (9 of them). Last year I painted Clinton at three years old on his Shetland pony for the Clinton Mueseum at Hope, Ark. (his birthplace). I do some fine art, murals and accent areas, ceilings,furniture but will tackle anything that can't run away. I have made belly casts of pregnant girls and painted sweet little baby faces and flowers, leaves, etc. on them. They are very pretty. Aren't you sorry you mentioned my art? Thanks for your interest.

I would dearly love to see your birds. If I ever have another pet it will be a bird. I had a cockatiel (SP?)once that I adored, but don't know much about birds. His name was Toby. He taught me what little I know.

Gotta get to work. I'm painting in a church today. Love to you, Reni and everyone else.

Betsy,
Have a webpage? i want to see your work?
pgrBetsy,

I'm jealous (not really). Wish I had even half the talent it sounds like you have. Your paintings must be really something. Sounds like a lot of fun, and so many interesting things to paint, I can see why it keeps you going.

Well, I'd better get ready for my walk. My neighbor gets here at 9 a.m. on the dot most mornings. She's a real inspiration to me. She's 66 and can run circles around me. She goes walking with another gal earlier in the morning, stops off at her house for a glass of water and potty break and then comes to get me!!! We compare steps on our step counters after our walks. She has about 16,000 to my 6000. Even if I did two walks, I wouldn't have that many. Oh, well, it's something to shoot for.

Thanks for everyone's posts and little insights into your lives. It makes the day fun to read all these.

Reni
pgr, I'm ashamed to tell you I don't have a webpage. I keep thinking maybe I'll slow it down,and really don't need one, but never do. I stay busy in our four states area as I have been doing mural type work for 15 years and fine art for all my life. Thanks for your interest. Sorry I don't have anything to share. Good night all, and have a painfree day tomorrow! LoveWell, I also went to the rheumy today... She is still struggling with the idea
that I have PMR at 51. Good news? Sed rate down to 12 and all other
tests normal. She admits all signs point to PMR. I have been painting a
room all week, and having a lot of pain in my "hips" and back to the pre
pred aching in the buttock, hip area when I get up to walk, hard time
bending over to pick things up etc. She says not PMR symptom... may be
combined with spinal stenosos from my old disc injury. Wants to do an
MRI. So we left it that I would go back in early Sept and stay on 20 mg till
then, but she wants to start decreasing the pred then 1 way or another. I
am terrified after hearing from all of you that we are going to decrease
before I am even pain free... then she says if I still have this other pain
she will really want an MRI

Thrilled for you Bets!
pgr555

PGR, Friday must be Rheumy day. It sounds like we're all making progress, anyhow! Since it's a diagnosis of elimination, I guess it is hard for the doctors sometimes. We could all diagnose it in a minute: If prednisone works, its PMR. If it doesn't, it's not. It has been my experience that they want to just keep you on the edge of pain with the prednisone. Gotta get us off the stuff. Mine gave me an injection yesterday which lasts one month. She wants me to go from 10mg to 7 1/2mg. Without that, I couldn't drop 2 1/2 at one time on the lower doses. I hopped out of bed like a teenager this morning. It was wonderful. I wish I could just have the injection every month, but that's a no no, somehow.

I told my doctor about us on the forum. She was truly interested. I told her how we can always tell what the doctor is doing right or wrong with the prednisone. Like when they drop you to fast or think your sed rate has to be up to have PMR. She laughed about us calling them Rheumies. We figured that started with our Eruopean friends. I've always thought it sounds British or Aussie.

It must be just awful to have this stuff at a young age. Still so much to do. Raising kids, working, taking care of family. It has to be so hard. When will they ever stop making 67 the median age. The wheels of medical research, like justcie, grind slowly, I guess. They haven't compiled that yet.

Love you all, and have a blessed weekend.

Hello all, haven't posted for awhile, but where has the summer gone???happy to read your posts, I have to thank the good lord that I am feeling sooo much better the past month. I went to foot dr. and had orthotics made (have good health ins.) and it has made a world of difference...I can now walk (in sneakers), actually don't have to lift my leg to get into car, he said I have no balls left in the bottom of my feet. thankfully I am female!!!!also picked up some orothogel rub for my neck and the pain eases off so much that I have been able to do all housework, ironing etc...Not on any meds except got some aleve from relatives (not an OTC drug in Canada) and take no more than 2 a day.

I am certainly blessed and am so thankful Hoping you all have a great weekend........We are most concerned about hurricane Dean, as our relatives live on the Cayman Is.   asking for prayers   thank you

rose
Hi Rose, We've missed you! It's so great to hear you're off all the meds and still feeling great. Wow! There is hope for us all. I will surely pray for your folks. Looks like the Caymans are really gonna get it.Hi Rose
     I am so glad to hear you are feeling better, like Betsy said maybe there is hope for all of us. I have lots of pain today in my buttocks, this is the strangest disease, being on 25 of the pred you think i would feel better, doc has some thing in mind for me after he reads the results of more tests he is sending me for.

     I will pray for your folks in the Caymans.

     My son is on the shuttle to land on Tuesday from the International Space Station, they are landing a day early because of hurricane Dean.
I will be glad when he is safe on earth, it has been a nerve racking 14 days...................
....................... love to all......................Georgiana
Betsy
     What was th injection that your doc gave you?
     What ever it is I want one, if it made you jump out of bed like a teenager.
..............................Georgiana..................... .....
hi Betsy & Georgiana: good to hear from you also, we have been watching the space shuttle as well Canadian on board, just watched CNN re space walk,,,,amazing..

Just an aside, speaking of miracles...have our grandson (30) coming for dinner to-morrow, he is from out west, we haven't been connected for over 6 years (family misunderstanding, I'm sure you are all familiar with that). We are thrilled that he has wanted to get back with us...life is so short.

Have so much to be thankful for that I am just bursting.

Hi All!

What wonderful news from many of you on these recent posts. Rose, I am so glad to hear that you got foot orthotics, and that they have made such a difference. I go back to the podiatrist on Monday. The taping has helped a little, but if I am on my feet for a long time, I end up limping again. I don't know yet if he will suggest a more expensive, ready-made foot insert than what I'm already using, or if we will go with the custom orthotics. I don't have very good insurance where that is concerned, unfortunately. Have you had word from your relatives in the Cayman Islands? Hope they are all fine.

Pgr555, you sound so much like me with your back problems. That makes it so much harder to differentiate what is truly the PMR and what is the back pain. I have mild stenoisis, and protruding discs and spinal arthritis, and also have the buttocks and hip pain as well as groin pain. They attribute that to referred pain from the spine. I can relate to having difficulty bending over to pick things up. Unfortunately, at this stage of things, there is not much that they can do for it. I've done physical therapy, which seems to help for a while, and then not help. I had an epidural steroid injection a few years ago which helped for about 3 weeks. I will consider another one - not until I am REALLY in dire pain. I hope you get some relief. While I was on pred. for the PMR (at the beginning, anyway, with 10mg), even my back pain went away. That pred. helps so many things, but I guess it's good NOT to be on it if there is something else wrong, as the pred. can mask the pain.

Georgiana, I'm praying with you for your son's safe trip back from the shuttle. Exciting stuff, but I can understand your wanting him to be safe on terra firma again.

Betsy, I can remember when I first started on prednisone, and I could run up and down the stairs again. It was truly like being a teen again, as you said. Too bad it didn't last for me. Hi Reni,
I noticed in your post that you also have pain in the buttocks and pelvic. Dr. never really explained that to me, sometimes i do not know what hurts down there, it is so strange. i also have stenosis and bulging disc, would that cause that pain or is it from the pmr, sometimes the pain seems to be in the vagina, my lord what a disease. Thanks for your help..i really do not know what i would do without you guys.
   thank you for your prayers for my son....
   love to all.   Georgiana

Rose, i am so happy for you and your granson...........Georgiana

Well glad everyone seems ro be doing well right now!
Georgianna - is your son REALLY an astronaut on the shuttle?? How exciting!
I am sure you are also anxious for him! I have 1 boy in europe and another
about to leave for Peru and i am anxious for them! Although i guess Peru
isn't rerra firma right now!

Have a good weekend all!
pgrGeorgiana,

With the buttocks and hip pain, it is hard to know if it is really coming from the PMR or the back problems, or maybe even both. I think at this stage of the game, my PCP is probably right in saying that my pain is from the back. The buttocks pain is really deep in the buttocks, and no amount of poking, prodding or massaging can get to it. It sure feels to me like muscle pain, but from what I read, it is a pain caused by irritated nerves in the back. Still hard for me to think that something in my back can make me ache like that. When my discs were herniated the 10 years ago, I did for a while have aching in my pelvic area. That was really weird, and no one said what it was - probably also from the back.

We had such a fun time tonight. Went to a guy's place up on a hill not far from here - what a gorgeous view he has from his place. There were about 120 folks from various home-Bible fellowships in the area. We had a BBQ, lots of fun games for the kids (small and us grown-up kids, too), some Bible teachings, and tehn afterwards, karaoke and dancing in building that usually houses volleyball teams and games. It was decorated really nice, and my daughter talked me into getting up and singing a song with her, and she did one with my husband, too. A fine time was had by all, even if the dancing and all made my foot hurt worse. One of my friend's mother has PMR. I don't get to see her very often, but she was there, and we compared notes. I told her about this site. Don't know if she will get on, but she and I always have a good laugh about thing when we talk about our aches and pains. It is so good to be able to laugh, and I usually find something to laugh or smile about with you all, too, after we've vented about the bad things. I'm so glad I found this site.

Have a good tomorrow.

Reni

Everyone seems so upbeat today! How wonderful. Georgianna, I'm just amazed that your son is on the shuttle. I had forgotten about that. How exciting for you...and all of us on the forum.

Georgianna, The injection is just some cortisone injection that lasts exactly one month for me. Surely, they have tried that on you. I have virtually no pain til it wears off. It only works on the PMR and now the RA. I still have my new bottom of the heel pain which isn't bad. I feel sooo good when they give me the shot, but it's disappointing when it wears off. Last night at 8:00 I was singing "Bobby Magee" in the shower. Can you belive that? I'm just a different person! I know it's only temporary, but am enjoying it while it lasts. Meanwhile, the Procrit for anemia and the new drug for RA should kick in.

So much to read today from everyone, I'm probably missing something. I'm going back to read again. Love to everyone.

Hi all!

It seems that many have a happy day. I am also glad because I had a successful cardioversion on Thursday (my 70th birthday). They gave me an appointment - that somebody had to cancel - at very short notice, so I took it even if I had my birthday. It was very easy (it was the third or fourth time for me) once I had all values OK. After ten mionutes of anestesia I woke up and got a cup of coffee while they told me I was OK again.

To-day I have mowed the lawn with an electric lawn-mower that I have to push or pull, and it was much easier with only PMR. I called my regular doctor yesterday and we agreed that I would taper down to 3.0 mg per day from 3.5. As you see, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. I have had PMR since June 2005 and felt just great the first month with 20 mg - it made me high, you could say. Then I have later felt a great fatigue when moving uphill or upwards in stairs

Have a nice day - here we have sunshine after all the rain during the last month. My American friends told me that they would need some of our rain.

Ragnar

Happy Birthady to you... HappyBirthday to YOU!!! Happy Birthday (a little
late) Hppy Birthday to you Ragnar!!!
Ok now... No need for rain here this summer! Keep it please!
Ragnar,

Yes, Happy belated birthday!!! It seems you are doing very well to be able to mow the lawn!!! Good for you. Sounds like many on the forum are doing better with the prednisone reduction.

We got a few sprinkles here yesterday. We could use some rain (sounds kind of funny, coming from Oregon, where it is wet about 8 months of the year). Also, where most of the US is having very hot temperatures, we area having a very cool summer. It feels like fall lately.

Glad to hear from everyone!!

Reni
happy b/d ragnar,,,I was 75 on aug. 15th, hey we're not getting older but better!!!!

Spoke with family in Cayman Is. they are all holding down things in anticipation of Dean's arrival, some of the wives and children got off island by plane yesterday, but now all has come to a stand still..Others have supplies ready, etc. memories of Ivan come back to all.

Had great visit/dinner with grandson, wonderful reunion, and he is soooo handsome and so nice.

The shuttle may be coming back earlier, Georgiana?

Our prayers are very important this day,,,the Lord must be so very busy...take care all regards

rose well late HBD to you too! All thses big birthdays! Today woud have been my
parents 62nd anniversary... Mom is gone but dad is here and having a hard
time with this one!

Thoughts to those in the path of the storm!
pgrHappy Birthday, Swede! So good to hear you are doing well, too.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. A late happy birthday to Rose too. My wife has her birthday two days after mine, so we usually combine the celebration.

Ragnar